Fire-escape



(No Model.)

D. C. PIERCE FIRE ESGAPE.

No. 293.352. Patented Feb. 12, 1884.

Z5/bve @Z077 Tatras Aralar FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,352, dated February12, 1884.

` Application mea may 11,1883. (No model.)

[o all whom t may concern" Be it known that I, DnNIsoN C. Pinnen, ofChicago, in the county of' Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is aspecification. i 1 i My present invention relates to re-escapes; and itconsists in a novel arrangement of a cab and apparatus for operating thesame, as hereinafter more fully set forth. Figure I is a frontelevation, showing the apparatus as applied to a building; andfFig. 2 isa similar view, showing a modification of the same. Y

The present invention is designed-as an irnprovement upon theflre-escape for which I iiled an applicationA for patent on the 13th dayof April, `1883. -l In that apparatus the cab or basket for loweringpersons from the building was suspended by a single rope, while stillanotherrope was used to move the cab laterally in one direction alongthe side of the building, ias is necessary, to enable it to be broughtin front of all the different windows of the building. In the presentinvention the same arrangement of rail `or track` is used for thecarriage to travel on, and the carriage A is made in the same generalstyle, the only difference being that in the former a single sheave `wasarranged at the center for the singlerope y supportthe cab, to passover, as shown in Figs.

l and 2, the carriage Abeing as long as the cab Bis wide, or a littlemore, so that the suspending-cords C D will pass from their sheaves ostraight down alongside of the cab B, and be connected thereto at itstop and bottom, as shown, thus making their attachment to the cabsecure, and at the same time holding the latter upright and preventingit from tipping. Vhen the cab or basket is suspended by a single cord,as in my former case, it isliable to swing or sway about, thus renderingit more difficult to bring it to the exact point desired, as well asmaking it more difficult for persons to get into it, both of whichconsume time, which at such a critical moment is of .the utmostimportance. In addition to this, this swaying or swinging movement ofthe cab or `basket operates to deter timid persons, espe cially womenand children, from `entering it, or at least to so delay their doing soas to consume valuable time, which may prevent the saving of others, ifnot themselves. Hence in my present invention I suspendthe cab B by tworopes, C D, as shown, the rope C passing up over a sheave, o, at one endof the traveling carriage A, thence laterally along the face 0f the wallandfover asheave, Z1, from which it passes down to a windlass, E,located at the ground, as shown. In this case the windlass is providedwith two winding-drums, f ande, the rope C being secured to the upperone, f, as shown in Fig.`1. The other rope, D,wl1ich is secured to theopposite' side oi' the cab in like manner, passes up over a sheave, o,at the opposite end of the carriage A; thence laterally inthe oppositedirection to and over a sheave, a, at the opposite corner of thebuildingthence down and under a sheave, c, at or near the ground, and from therealong the front ofA the building to and under another sheave, c?,

upon which it can be wound at pleasure. With the parts thus arranged itwill be seen that by winding both ropes C D on their respective drums ef simultaneously, the cab B will be hoisted straight up without beingmoved laterally, and that by unwinding them it will be lowered directlydown. If either one alone be wound up, then the cab will be both raisedand moved laterally at the same time, andif one alone be unwound, thecab will be lowered and movedlaterally in the opposite direction. Toillustrate this, suppose the rope C be wound on its drum j', the drawingon said rope will tend to raise the cab; but as the raising of it bylifting on that side alone will tend to slacken the tension on the ropeD, the result will be that the carriage A will be drawn along to wardthe sheave b, and thereby take up that portion of rope D which isbetween the carriage and the cab, thus raising the cab at the same timethat it is being moved laterally, the resultant of these two movementsor forces being to cause the cab to move in a diagonal direction upwardand sidewise along the face of roo the wall, the unwinding of the rope Cof course resulting in a reverse movement. In like mau.

ner the winding and unwinding of the rope D will produce precisely thesame effect, only that the carriage and cab will be moved toward theopposite side of the building.

It will readily be seen that as either or both of the drums cf may beoperated at will, the cab may be moved up or down and in eitherdirection laterally, according as one or the other or both of the drumsmay be operated, and that by means of these two drums the cab may bemade to travel to any and all points upon the face of the wall, and thusbe brought in front of any window or opening on the entire front of thebuilding.

Vhile I have shown a simple form of windlass merely to illustrate theprinciple and mode of operation, I propose to use the style of windlassshown in myformer application hereinbefore referred to, in whichmultiplying-gear and brakes are used. I also contemplate the use ofmovable intermediate gear, by which the two windlasses e and f may bethrown into connection, so that both may be operated simultaneously bythe same power, and also to use reversing-gear, so that the twowindlasses may be made' to rotate in the same or in opposite directionsat will, for the purpose of more readily producing the various movementsof the cab, as above set forth; but as these various details of thewindlass mechanism will be readily understood by machinists, it isunneces sary to further describe them at this time.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a slight modication of the plan shown in Fig. 1,the only dierence being that, instead of placing the two winding-drums eand j in one frame at one corner of the building, I'have shown eachplaced in a separate frame, and located at opposite sides of thebuilding, the result and mode of operation being the'same in effect. Byso doing the sheave c at the lower left-hand Corner of Fig. 1, andthe'extension of the rope D across the building at its base, togetherwith the sheave d, may be dispensed with. It is obvious that when thusarranged the intermediate connecting and reversing gear above referredto can-` not be conveniently used, though it can be done by vextendingone or more shafts across from one to the other drum and providing theproper gear, clutches, & c.; but as this would render the apparatuscomplicated and belikely to cause confusion and delay, I do not considerit desirable.

It is obvious that if the rope be extended across the front of thebuilding, as shown in Fig. l, it may be run through a pipe orpassage-way under the pavement, to keep it out of the way and protect itfrom injury, or, if there be an area or basement in front of thebuilding, as is often the case in cities, it may be run across throughit. So, too, the windlasses may be located in an area or basement, ifdesired, or at whatever point is most convenient, it only beingnecessary to so locate sheaves as to carry the ropes to the windlassesWherever located.

It will of course be understood that the ropes, carriage, cab, and allparts of the apparatus are to be iliade of metal, or otherwise renderedv By these .means I am enabled to produce an exceedingly simple andefficient fire-escape, and one' in which the cab or basket is preventedfrom swaying or swinging about, and is made to movev much more steadilyand uniform, thereby rendering it far more available for women andchildren or timid persons, and also saving valuable time in operatingit.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is- A l. Thecombination,in a nre-escape, of a cab suspended by cables or ropes atits two opposite sides,atravelingcarriagecarrying sheaves, over whichsaid ropes pass, and two pulleys located one at each corner of thebuilding inline with the traveling carriage, said ropes being led towinding-drums below, all arranged to operate substantially 'asdescribed, whereby the cab, by means of said ropes, can be bothelevated, lowered, and also moved laterally, as set forth.

2. In combination with the traveling carriage A, the cab B, with theropes O D, sheaves ab c d, and winding-drums cj', all arranged tooperate substantially asand for the -purpose set forth.

3. The combination, in a fire-escape, of a traveling carriage, A,provided with the two sheaves 0 o, and the cab B, having the two ropes CD connected thereto, and passing up over sheaves in the travelingcarriage, and from thence in opposite directions around the pulleys a dat the opposite corners of the building, and from thence to the twowinding-drums, whereby the ropes which sustain the cab can be made tomove the same both vertically and laterally, as herein shown anddescribed.

DENISON C. PIERCE IOO

